April 21 2012 Bowling Newsletter

Here's the latest article from the Bowling site at BellaOnline.com.

Quiet Confidence In Bowling
Larry's contributed his thoughts before and I've gotten good feedback in the past from his take on our sport. Here's more great reflections about the game he obviously loves.

The 2012 PBA Senior Tour season gets underway Saturday when a capacity field of 160 50-and-older players assemble at Spanish Springs Lanes in The Villages, Fla., for the PBA Senior Sun Bowl in The Villages presented by Storm. Among the competitors will be PBA Hall of Famer Amleto Monacelli of Venezuela, who will be making his PBA Senior Tour debut.

Monacelli, a 19-time PBA Tour titlist, hit the magical age of 50 in late August of 2011, right after the 2011 Senior Tour season ended. He will have plenty of PBA Hall of Fame company in The Villages. Tom Baker, Dale Eagle, Larry Lichstein, Johnny Petraglia, Ernie Schlegel, Dave Soutar, Mark Williams and Walter Ray Williams Jr. also are in the field.

A couple of other familiar names will make their Senior Tour debuts in The Villages: four-time PBA Tour champion Bob Learn Jr. and newly-elected USBC Hall of Famer Lennie Boresch Jr.

PBA Hall of Famer and 36-time PBA Tour champion Pete Weber will become eligible on Aug. 21, exactly one week after the final event of the 2012 season.

Following The Villages, the Senior Tour heads to Winter Garden, Fla., for another sold-out event, the Don Carter Memorial Open presented by Ebonite, April 28-May 2. The tournament will be hosted by Carter Family Bowl, which is operated by Don Carterfs son Jim and his family.

ITfS A BOY FOR THE BELMONTES

Hugo Belmonte arrived in the world on Wednesday, April 18, ending weeks of anxious moments for PBA Player of the Year candidate Jason Belmonte, who made the 8,000-mile, 16-hour trek home from Las Vegas to Australia in time for wife Kimberlyfs delivery.

The anxious father admitted he was texting his overdue wife continuously during Round of 36 competition in the PBA Tournament of Champions, which concluded Sunday at Red Rock Lanes in Las Vegas with a third-place finish for the Australian two-handed specialist.

gPOCKET 7-10h HAS BECOME THE NEW gSPLIT DU JOURh IN PBA COMPETITION

Back in the plastic ball era of bowling, the 5-7 split was the bane of all right-handed bowlers, defining a weak ball hitting light into the pocket. In the age of urethane, the gpocketh split that caused ulcers was the 8-10 (or 7-9 for left-handers).

With the advancement to greactive resinh balls, a preponderance of 4-9 splits caused by late snap-hook action high into the pocket created millions of migraines.

In todayfs high-powered world, itfs the gpocket 7-10h that has been bringing players to their knees.

Over the past two or three seasons, there have been dozens of gpocket 7-10h splits that have killed playersf bids for titles. But during the PBA Tournament of Champions at Red Rock Lanes in Las Vegas, it was a gpocket 7-10h that fell apart at the last second that changed the complexion of the tournament.

Needing a strike in the 10th frame to beat Kelly Kulick by one pin in the four-player roll-off to get into the Round of 36, defending TOC champion Mika Koivuniemi saw a gpocket 7-10h standing on his first shotcuntil the 10 pin fell over at the last second. With fate on his side, Koivuniemi converted the spare and struck on his fill ball to claim the 25th spot in the Elite Field, 215-214.

With new life and a fresh start in the Round of 36, Koivuniemi battled for a spot in the four-player ES{M stepladder finals until the 36th and final game, where his luck ran out.

CARMEN SALVINO TURNS LEMONS INTO LEMONADE

PBA Hall of Famer Carmen Salvino of Chicago always knows how to turn a bad situation into something good. During the PBA Tournament of Champions at Red Rock Lanes in Las Vegas, where he improved upon his own record as the oldest player ever to bowl in the event at age 78, Salvino stuck at the foul line during Elite Field qualifying and fell.

When concerned players came to help him up and ask if he was okay, Salvino noted, gI just set a PBA record. I stuck and fouled with my foot on the left lanecfell down and fouled on the right lanecand still threw a strike. How many other players have ever done that?h

REGIONAL ROUNDUP:

PBA Hall of Famer Tom Baker of King, N.C. defeated Kenny Parks of Hammond, Ind., 286-234, to win the PBA South Region Don Carter Signature Series North Ft. Myers Senior Open at Allstar Lanes in North Ft. Meyers, Fla., Sunday in a tune-up event for the start of the 2012 PBA Senior Tour season.

The Senior Tour gets underway April 21-24 with the PBA Senior Sun Bowl in The Villages presented by Storm at Spanish Spring Lanes. Another Don Carter Signature Series presented by Storm event, the Tampa Senior Open, is underway at AMF University Lanes in Tampa and will conclude Thursday.

The win in North Ft. Meyers was Bakerfs 26th in regional competition. The three-time Senior Player of the Year also earned $1,500 for the win.

In Shawnee, Okla., Scotty Scott from Wylie, Texas, defeated amateur Jack Zuniga of Tulsa, Okla., 239-190, to win the PBA Southwest Region FireLake/Flintco Open presented by Roto Grip at FireLake Bowling Center on Sunday. The win for Scott was his first PBA title after 15 years of trying. He had never before qualified for the match play finals.

Spencer Waryas of Tulsa, Okla., won the Teen Masters 14-and-under qualifier with 1,517 for eight games.

Starting Thursday, the PBA West/Northwest Regions will compete in Hawaii, beginning with the Hawaii Storm Open at Schofield Barracks on April 19, followed by the Hickam AFB Open and Senior Open presented by Storm April 20-22. Also over the April 20-22 weekend will be the PBA East Regionfs 900 Global Open at Hoe Bowl in Catskill, N.Y., and additional regionals are set for Catskill, N.Y., and the Debbie and Leon Nunan Memorial Open at AMF Stardust Lanes in Grove City, Ohio. The PBA Southwest Region will host the Astro Super Bowl Challenge, a non-champions event, in San Antonio, Texas.

For complete Regional tournament schedules and entry information, visit pba.com and click on gRegional Tourh under the gSchedulesh drop-down tab.

QUICK NOTES

 Overlooked: Parker Bohn III improved his record for 300 games bowled in PBA competition to 88 with his perfect game during the Xtra Frame Tour Dick Weber PBA Playoffs presented by Hammer.

 For the second year in a row, PBA South Region champion Tom Daugherty was the only player in the PBA Tournament of Champions to advance out of the Champions Field and bowl all the way to the end of qualifying for the TV finals (remember his 100 game in the 2011 ABC-TV finals?). Daugherty didnft make it to TV in 2012, but the Tampa area gthumblessh player bowled a total of 70 more games (14 in the Champions Field, 20 in the Elite Field and 36 in the Round of 36). Added to his 75 games bowled in 2011, Daugherty has bowled 145 games in the Tournament of Champions over a span of only two years.

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